In Other Words

2011-11-30T09:54:00.005-05:00

Ask a Simple Question...(or a Day in the Life in My ESL class)

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I gave my Advanced Conversation ESL students what I thought would be a simple assignment, one that would give them some much-needed time listening to English and would also provide breezy conversation topics for class--

I simply said they should watch a TV show/movie or listen to a radio program in English and report back.

As usual, things that seem simple get complicated for various reasons and the conversations that resulted were useful but not exactly breezy. I debated about whether to get to the book and group work first but decided to go with reports first and group work later. Since some students were absent, I let the reports go on a little longer than usual and determined that the next report would be timed (this means students have to edit themselves and think about what matters most). All in all, English was practiced and new vocabulary was explained and that is the main objective.

Student #1: She and her daughter went to the Redbox to get Love, which she said is the sequel to Honey. When the opened the case, the movie inside was not Love, but a filmed version of a Tyler Perry play. The student enjoyed the movie very much and found it inspirational.

Student #2: Put her glasses on and jokingly referred to this action as "middle age crisis" as she looked at her notes. It seemed that outside of class she had argued with Student #3 about whether or not the assignment was to listen to/watch an interview. She watched a YouTube interview with author Mary Higgins Clark and seemed to be reading a transcript of the article verbatim. I gently interrupted to remind her that the assignment was to tell us her thoughts about what she had seen.

Student #3: Watched a movie she called, "Tina Turner." She told a bit about some of the movie's pleasant aspects, but when she started to discuss the abuse Ike Turner heaped upon Tina, Student #2 got upset. Meanwhile, Student #3, smiling, continued to tell the story, recounting what happened when Tina finally left Ike. She ended by singing a few seconds of "What's Love Got to Do with It."

The other students sat there aghast. Student #1 asked if this was based on a true story and later commented that Student #3 was "a romantic."

Student #4: Spoke with great enthusiasm about "Walking Dead," which he watch online. This prompted a brief discussion about the existence of zombies. There was also a lot of talk of blood and shootings and Muslim students seemed scandalized by the details of a woman who ends up impregnated by another man (her husband's best friend) because she thought her husband was dead (he wasn't).

Student #5: Had been constructing a paper airplane during one of the earlier presentations. When he began to speak, I saw that he had done this to use it as a prop to explain a detail related to his story. I say his story because, assignment be damned, he announced that he was going to talk about "real life." And talk about real life he did. In previous classes, he has revealed his work as an army engineer for a Latin American country. He told of how a helicopter pilot he worked with and considered a brother was shot in the head during skirmish at a border. He was on the ground getting missiles ready to be loaded onto the helicopter. In the six hours it took to finish their tasks and arrange for the pilot's body to be picked up, there wasn't time to really mourn him, but they did drape a flag over his body. in the end, someone realized the pilot was still breathing.

The other students had a lot of questions and it seems that skirmish was part of an armed conflict that originated in the 1940s and was reignited in the 1990s. Everyone wanted to know who won. I said in war, no one wins. Student #5 concluded that unlike what happened in the 1940s, this time his country won the conflict (with 30 casualties to the other country's 1000) but they lost in a diplomatic sense because there had been international pressure trying to get both sides to end the conflict much sooner. Student #2 said it was "lose-lose."

2011-11-01T11:31:00.003-04:00

The Black List

While I was at the press preview for The Black List, I was so taken with it, I kind of forgot why I was there. When a publicist came over to ask me if I was a reporter, I almost said, "no." Since I am a freelance writer I don't think of myself as a reporter and in that moment I was so occupied with enjoying the exhibit, my occupation was an afterthought.

In that moment, I was looking at a photo of Patrick Robinson and admiring his 'fro.

It's a great exhibit and if you're in or around DC you should definitely see it.

See Insightful Photo Exhibit "The Black List" at the Nat'l Portrait Gallery
"While I attend a number of art exhibition previews and I am glad to do so, it is not often that I walk into the room and stop in my tracks. Seeing The National Portrait Gallery's exhibit “The Black List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders” caused me to do just this.

Historically, the term “blacklist” referred to a group of people marginalized and denied work or social approval. "The Black List" was created out of the inspiration to change the meaning of the term to become that of a roll call of distinction."

Photo of Angela Davis - Timothy Greenfield-Sanders/www. npg.edu

2011-10-14T15:14:00.004-04:00

Toilet Paper Masks

I went to a press preview for a new National Portrait Gallery exhibit on Gertrude Stein. It was interesting and as always, I like getting an advanced look at an exhibit and hearing curators give background...but what really fascinated me was a Life magazine ad that was next to story by Stein.

It was an ad for a Scott Tissue emergency mask that was "used only once and is instantly disposable." It was illustrated with pictures, one of a father bending over a newborn alongside the doctor and one of a mother leaning over a baby. The lower halves of both parents' faces were covered with the "tissue mask" and there were written instructions for how one could use sheets of toilet tissue, secured with a safety pin, as a mask to prevent the spread of germs.

Was this really a serious attempt to market an alternative use for toilet paper? I don't know. That was a different time.

Given what I learned about Gertrude Stein and of her high opinion of her own genius, she might be dismayed that I took this much time to ponder a toilet paper mask instead of concentrating on her writing on the opposite page. Then again, she might not care at all.

2011-09-09T11:36:00.007-04:00

How Do You Define "Open Forum?"

As is my custom, I write pieces on other blogs and then use my own blog to give a "behind-the-scenes" look at what else was going on while I was writing the piece or at the event. Is that wrong? I don't think so. Everything doesn't fit everywhere. There is a time, a place and a blog for everything...and this was precisely the loud debate that was raging while I was trying to take in
Thought-Provoking Art at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.

Security staff gathered in the hallway outside the main exhibit room at the museum argued over what kind of comments should be made to supervisors and whether or not open forums were the right place for these comments. The very notion that an argument about who can and should say what and when they should say it would be going on as I viewed the art of a very expressive artist was just too tantalizing to ignore. However, as it wore on, I grew tired of it. Their loud discussion interfered with my enjoyment of the art. I'm all about free speech, freedom of expression and whatnot, but sometimes employees of a place should choose to make their expression quieter or table it for another time. (Though I know this is hard to do when one is all fired up.)

Upon entering, I heard "You're asking me to censor myself. I am not going to be responsible for someone carrying a story on."

"What I'm saying is there is a time and place for everything."

It seemed that there were several issues: the idea that people can overhear things and how responsible you are for what they my mishear and how to make comments to a supervisor.

The first speaker threw down the gauntlet and asked, "How do you define open forum?"

One man was up against several colleagues and he was not backing down. "All fights are to the death. That's my attitude."

"Every fight is not a battle. You have to pick and choose you battles," one of his opponents replied.

"The world needed MLK and Booker T. They both got things done...but who got the most done--the fighter."

For my part, I wanted to tell them to be quiet, and in the 20 minutes or so I spent there, voices were raised and the circular discussion seemed to have no exit point. The desk-gladiator did care that the lions were circling; he was gonna keep swinging until the very end. I don't demand absolute silence, but they were too loud and if museums consider their patrons to be customers, then customers don't need to be exposed to inside politics in that fashion. But this happens everywhere--at stores, restaurants, wherever you go staff argues publicly about the inner workings of a place and you get to hear all about it.

I had arrived tired and wanted the transcendental experience of art to revive me a little. I left just as tired. It was my choice to leave without addressing them directly. Though I left loudly, rolling my eyes and sighing audibly with annoyance in their direction, I guess by the desk-gladiator's rules, I lost the fight. But every fight is not a battle and as always, I left with a story.

2011-09-06T07:49:00.005-04:00

Going Postal: There May Not Always Be Work at the Post Office

This morning I woke to the news that the U.S. Postal Service is warning Congress that it may shutdown before the year is over.

I recently ended up at the National Postal Museum as I was trying to get to the Great Migration exhibit at Union Station next door. In a blog for Examiner.com I wrote:

"I had been to this museum once before, years ago when I first arrived in DC and then I thought nothing of it…but now being in a postal museum seems prescient--will a national postal service one day be a thing of the past?"

This was just last week and I'm sure my thoughts were influenced by having read "What we'll lose if we lose the post office" in The Washington Post. Throughout the museum, I saw pictures reminding me that the postal service employed many African Americans, even when other places wouldn't. It wasn't necessarily smooth sailing because employment did not mean there was no discrimination, but still, employment at the post office helped lift families out of poverty.

The ripple effect of the end of postal service would be huge. For years there was talk of cutting Saturday service and there was an outcry against it. I don't know that this would have prevented all of its fiscal woes, but some cuts and being willing to do with less in some capacity may have kept things from getting to this point.

Here is my blog post about my museum visit: A Visit to the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum

PHOTO: African American postmen loading bags of mail into U.S. mail trucks (1960s)
Warren K. Lefler, photographer/ Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

2011-09-05T16:57:00.006-04:00

Chasing Julius Caesar

I really persevered to get into the Shakespeare Free For All this year. I didn't make it until the last day and the website was so bogged down, that pages wouldn't load so I could enter the online lottery for tickets. I called to register for the lottery via phone, but I wasn't selected. I kinda gave up, but when I check Facebook on my phone after church, I saw that on their Facebook page the theater was telling people to show up for "standby" passes.

Instead of being in line for hours ahead of the regular giveaway, I got a standby pass, sat down for 1/2 an hour and then got in line to see if I'd make it into the show. I thought of calling it a day because 73 seemed like a high number. I heard a man who was 102 on his cell phone talking about how confident he was that he'd get in and I told myself it'd be better to wait.
So I made it in and I'm glad I waited. I'd never seen Julius Caesar (though I think I read it in high school) and since I really like Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies, a free performance was a great way to test out a historical play. Here is what stood out for me:

-->The rhythm of the speech when Cassius tells Brutus that the there is no reason why the name of Caesar should be "sounded" more than Brutus (Act 1, Scene 2) reminded me of the "a rose by any other name"speech in Romeo and Juliet. They are talking about very different things of course, but the questioning nature of it made me think of Juliet.

-->The audience laughed when Caska said "it was Greek to me" and I wondered if audiences in Shakespeare's day would have had the same reaction. The line wasn't really played for laughs, but the recognition of that phrase was amusing in a way that other familiar phrases ("dogs of war" "Friends, Romans, Countrymen) were not.

-->The idea Brutus has for the conspirators to run out into the streets with bloody hands and daggers and crying "Peace! Liberty! Freedom!" to allay any fears the people might have after Caesar is assassinated (Act 3 Scene 1) seemed appalling to me…but then I thought of modern political maneuvers that fit into that mold. It is more graphic to run in the streets with blood on your hands but washing your hands first before you cry peace doesn't make it better.

-->Speaking of blood…this production was very bloody, but that is the point of the story. Seeing murder onstage and knowing they are using fake blood capsules doesn't make it less unsettling. People all around (including me at times) were on the edge of their seats.

-->The "Friends, Romans" phrase and "Et tu, Brute" are the parts of the play that I hear most often in popular culture so I was caught unaware by the masterful manipulation of Mark Antony. The woman next to me and I discussed it at intermission. He was cold.

-->Mark Antony's speech and the way he had the people on puppet strings, plus tragedy that befell a man in the wrong place at the wrong time who had the same name as one of the conspirators made me think about Brutus speech about "a tide in the affairs of men."

Full of hubris, Caesar got killed, but he overshadowed Rome and its people for years to come. He isn't even alive past intermission in the play and he has been long gone, but we still talk about him because he worked to ensure that his legacy would live on.

-->With all the blood and political intrigue, I'm surprised Julius Caesar is not modernized more often. The production I saw was quite riveting.

On a lighter note, Caska was played by Geoffrey Owens, who also played Elvin on The Cosby Show. And before now, I'd only seen bits of Julius Caesar acted out on The Cosby Show.

Theo and Cockroach rap version of Mark Antony's speech

Visiting professors and Grandpa Huxtable recite passages of Julius Caesar for the family

2011-09-02T09:56:00.004-04:00

The Great Migration: In which I teach a sweet old lady how to use Google

The Great Migration-a period of time when African-Americans left the South for the North (and West) in the hopes of better lives-is something I obsess about a little. I was at Union Station looking for the Great Migration exhibit that I read about and couldn't seem to find it. When I asked someone who worked there, she said it wasn't there and that people had been asking her about it for over a week. That seemed strange to me…things are misreported all the time, but the article I had read had been so specific.

So I went over the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum so I could still get my exhibit-on. In one of those "I just have to try" moments, I asked the woman at the front desk if she knew anything about the exhibit that was supposed to be at Union Station. She didn't. But she offered to look it up for me online.

As it turns out she was offering to look it up within the Smithsonian website that was the homepage on her computer. She seemed to be a very sweet old lady. For a moment, I thought I'd just let her look it up there, not find it because this exhibit had nothing to do with the Smithsonian, and then I'd be on my way…

But rather than stand there and wait and be polite while she painstakingly and slowly tried to type in the info ("How do you spell migration?" she asked.), I told her to type the words into the Google search bar.

By the time we got to the original article, I had shown her how to search for things on Google (typing in 'Great Migration' only would yield all kinds of unrelated info, but typing in "Great Migration Union Station DC' actually lead to an article about the exhibit), and how to scroll down to see more than a few results.

It was a great exchange--I got info on the exact location of the exhibit and got to hear her reminisce about how she remembered her mother talking to her the experience of migrating to the North. She learned about the exhibit next door at Union Station and did her first search on Google.

As for the exhibit itself, there was not a lot to it. It was sponsored by Amtrak and set up near one of the gates people use when they board trains. Really, it was some very large banners that were informative, but not worth a special trip. The Great Migration lasted for decades, waxing and waning at different points from 1915 to 1970, but they confined to a much shorter time period.

And now of course, we have the reverse Great Migration, which is no less interesting than the Great Migration and something in which I have taken part. I'm not in the deep South, but I have left (what I consider to be) the North. In a discussion with my North Carolina cousins, they declared DC to still be North. That's fine. I just remember my father telling me that an old deacon at my church back home in Buffalo could not understand why young people wanted to move to Georgia. His attitude was that he left and was certainly not going back. I feel the same way about Buffalo, so if I have children who trek up there in a future where that make sense, I'd wonder at them too.

2011-08-05T14:59:00.004-04:00

Clybourne Park, a twist on A Raisin in the Sun

Last year, I intended to see Clybourne Park at Woolly Mammoth and didn't get around to it. Since then it won a Pulitzer, so that plus all of the buzz from last year means that the line wrapped around the inside of the building more than once at the one pay-what-you-can performance they held. They only had standing room tix left and I was feet away from the counter when the declared the show to be sold out. So, I bit the bullet and bought a ticket.

I wrote about the play for Examiner.com: Clybourne Park, a twist on A Raisin in the Sun

The playwright (who is also an actor) says he wrote the play, in part because he was really into the play as a kid, and that he never got to play Karl Lindner (who I think is the play's only white male character). I understand wanting to see yourself represented in a play...so while I watched it, I identified with the maid in the first act (since she is the only black woman in the play). She placates because she has to.

And then in the second act, the corresponding black female character, who is not a maid, can't get a word in edgewise. I was understanding her frustration until she egged on another character's foolish wish to tell a racist joke. Then she told an insulting joke herself and I didn't get her motivation. She was frustrated when she was continually disregarded, but nothing she had done seemed to lend itself to her stoking the fires of the verbal brawl that ensued after the joke was told.

2011-03-08T19:27:00.003-05:00

I Can Do Bad All By Myself (or Opening Doors)

The title of this post has now become such a cliche that I wonder if it hasn't lost all of its meaning. I use it here because the experience I am about to relate is not earth-shattering...and not because I really mean it.

As I was writing a blog post to discuss a few ways to celebrate Women's History Month and I was thinking about how today is International Women's Day and all, I remembered some rude teenage boys I encountered earlier in the day...how do we get all of out grand proclamations and celebrations to trickle down to the average Joe?

I was entering a high school where I volunteer and when I got to the door a young man opened it and walked past me. The young man behind him held the door open and scolded his friend. As I thanked the more chivalrous of the two, the first said with no small amount of scorn, "She can open it for herself."

Yes, yes I can.

Happy International Women's Day to those who open doors for themselves and to those opened doors for others to walk through.

2011-03-01T10:09:00.003-05:00

Oedipus el Rey

I just wrote a post on Oedipus el Rey, a play I recently saw, at my Examiner.com blog. I thought the play was amazing and that makes me all academic. The good think about blogging is that I can write a mini-paper about something I find intriguing without having to really write one that is 20 pages or so and get graded.

Oedipus el Rey is a Chicano update of Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), the ancient Greek play by Sophocles. In the Greek play, Oedipus is the son of a king who is adopted by the king of a nearby kingdom. In Oedipus el Rey, Oedipus is the son of a gang leader who keeps talking about how he wants to be a king. The tragic end is the same...but the Greek Oedipus does not doubt that he is of royal birth, while in the update, the Chicano Oedipus keeps saying he wants to be a king. He is looking for the recognition and respect that so many young men look for outside of themselves and attempt to "take" by violent means.

2011-02-27T14:31:00.003-05:00

Josiah Henson: "I graduated from the University of Adversity."

The words above are said to have been Henson's response when the Archbishop of Cantebury, impressed with his bearing and speech, asked him what university he attended. (Sadly, people still feel that an "articulate" black person is a thing of wonder today.)

I wrote about the Josiah Henson Special Park for Examiner.com because there were giving free tours every Saturday during Black History Month. After writing about the tours, I decided to actually take the tour myself.

The park is site of where Josiah Henson spent most of his life while he was a slave in Maryland. The house has been altered but bones of the original structure are still there.

While the house isn't a shack, it also isn't a grand manor.One thing I was struck by was the tour guide's observation that 'if this was the main house,
can you imagine what how the slaves lived. Seeing the house reminded me that those notions of anti-bellum grandeur fostered by movies like Gone with the Wind are not necessarily accurate.

Henson, who is an ancestor of Matthew Henson and Tariji P. Henson, was the man whose autobiography (The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself) Harriet Beecher Stowe used as inspiration when she wrote Uncle
Tom's Cabin. Although some historic sites that pertain to Henson's life were once referred to as "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the Special Park in Montgomery County, outside of DC was renamed.

Henson's autobiography got little attention until after Stowe wrote her book and he objected to being characterized as Uncle Tom while he was alive. While Henson did not like being considered to be one and the same as Stowe's famous character "Uncle Tom," he did not blame Stowe; instead he used the association to his advantage. He met Stowe and she wrote an introduction to an updated edition of his book. Since the term "Uncle Tom" has become more of an insult since he died, he surely would not want to be thought of that way.

He has a remarkable story--a child of slaves who saw his parents treated very cruelly and was for a time sold away from his mother; an excellent business manager who became so trusted by his master, he managed the farm and the slaves; an honest man who did not allow himself or his charges to escape when they had the chance (and later regretted it); a preacher who was enterprising enough to earn money to buy his freedom; a hardworking slave who turned rebel when he realized he had been cheated and was to be sold after years of loyalty; a brave man who escaped to Canada with his family, founded a community for free blacks and later risked his life to help bring others to freedom as a conductor on the Underground Railroad; a compassionate man who used what he knew to help the widow of the master who cheated him to get a pension.

2011-01-17T09:46:00.001-05:00

Go Ahead and Free Yourself

2011-01-11T10:38:00.005-05:00

Blind Spots

After reading an article on The Root about research that concluded that Black women are "socially invisible," my mind started working overtime. The article referenced a Psychology Today piece-Are Black Women Invisible?

I thought about those times when I felt invisible-whether it was because someone had mistaken me for another black woman. Where I work, two other black women have short hair--one is taller than me and has natural close to her scalp and the other is shorter and has a perm--and I've been confused for both.

Then I also remembered the times when I confused non-black people for each other because I couldn't distinguish between them. For example, I meant no harm when I was teaching and confused students who looked similar.

There is being invisible as in not being in someone's line of sight...and there is being invisible as feeling undervalued. It's complicated because those articles touch on both kinds of invisibility. At times I've felt invisible because I spoke up in a group, only to have what I said be ignored. If and when I insisted on being heard, the message I sometimes received (verbal or otherwise) was that I was being intrusive.

We could all be more mindful of each other.

I went to an African dance class last week and not once, but twice, a large
black woman walked over to where I was and practically stood in the same space I was occupying as if I wasn't there. In this class, we dance in lines and if you come in late, you have to find a space. I couldn't understand how the first woman somehow did not see me quite present there and began to dance in the space where I was when there were other spaces without people in them. And when a different woman did the same thing, I was even more perplexed.

But then, I went to a completely different African dance class at a completely different fitness center...

I walked in while people were warming up and they turned to look at me, as people do when someone they don't know walks into a room. I joined the warm-up and a rather large woman who was in a line in front of me stopped warming up, turned around, pointed to me and said:

"What are you doing here? You're fit."

I can say that in that moment I was certainly not invisible or overlooked and no one was going to invade my personal space.

2010-12-31T12:55:00.002-05:00

Five Books That Resonated with Me This Year

Every year I look at the best books of the year lists and see that I have read very few of the books on those lists. Oh well. 2010 was a good reading year for me, as they all are if you are really into books. I got a new gig that involved a bit of a commute, so this year I found that I had an increased appreciation for audio books since they kept me going as I went to and from work.

Rather than go through other people's lists or ponder what books of this year were truly "worthy," I decided to give myself a few seconds to think of the books that really resonated with me this year. I came up with four, although I would have preferred to have a top five. After I opened the blog panel, found some clip art and started to write, one more popped into my head.

My Five Favorite Reading/Listening Experiences of 2010

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

The Giver by Lois Lowry

TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY by Jay Asher

2010-10-21T12:39:00.003-04:00

The Cleavage Isn't Really the Problem...

So between Grover spoofing the Old Spice Guy and the precious I Love My Hair video that is making the rounds, I’ve been watching a lot of Sesame Street clips lately…and I just got around to watching the oh so controversial Katy Perry guest spot on Sesame Street that didn’t air because of the objections over the sight of her cleavage, visible via her see-through bustier-type top.

I know exactly why there were objections to her outfit, but to me the content of the clip is what needs to be examined. I imagine that her song Hot N Cold was adapted using Elmo mainly to teach opposites (up/down, in/out, fast/slow, stop/go) with Elmo acting these out while Katy Perry chases him around. But since Sesame Street also has lessons about social interaction, I wondered what kids were supposed to learn about friendship from this flaky version of Elmo. He told her to meet him to play dress-up…and then he runs away and she sings, "Used to laugh while we played/Now you just run away."

Everyone faces rejection and all kids have times when they don’t want to play, but the skit seemed like a bizarre kiddie He’s Just Not That Into You…what with Katy Perry showing up for a dress-up playdate wearing what looks like bridal headgear and being all disappointed in Elmo, but then chasing him even after he acts like he doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

And then, true to form, Elmo tells “Miss Katie” that he was playing…he was playing tag…and she just didn’t get it. Because if there is one thing kids need to learn, it’s that if you’re gonna be friends, there will be a time when you just aren’t on the same wavelength and that some of us forget to communicate when the game has changed.

2010-10-10T21:07:00.003-04:00

Smile Loud Enough for Them to Hear

When I read a piece called Nobody's Smilin' from Clutch Magazine about how annoying it is to have men you don't know demand that you smile, I thought it was on point. And since the usual "black women shouldn't look so mean" stuff gets hashed out in the article's comments, I won't bother going into all that. But yes, a common refrain that is thrown at a woman who won't smile on demand is 'life isn't that bad.'

While life certainly isn't bad, it is annoying to be yelled at or told to smile or expected to stop and converse with/entertain people you have no interest in talking to so that they can get an ego boost. And yes, a smile traditionally means friendliness an approachability, but sometimes "there's daggers in (wo)men's smiles." Even the most upbeat people don't walk around grinning all the time and still may want to be left alone when they do.

So today I was in very long line at Trader Joe's after I'd indulged in a cupcake that made me rather full, and *gasp* I was not smiling despite the wonderfulness of having a car and money for cupcakes and TJ's food. I was however, lost in thought, when someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around but quickly realized that the man behind me wanted me to move out of the way so he could get the attention of the man in front of me.

The shoulder-tapper could not speak, but he used gestures and sign language to indicate that the man in front of me should pick up one of the 29 cent chocolate bars conveniently located on a low shelf for people waiting in long lines.

The man in front me was able to speak so he responded out loud and picked up a chocolate bar.

Then the man behind me tapped me on the shoulder again to gesture to me that I should smile.

2010-10-07T15:25:00.004-04:00

The Q&A Got a Little Crazy

Last week I wrote a lovely little blog post (Center for American Progress examines How to Keep the Fuel of Creation and Innovation Burning) for my blog at Examiner.com and in trying to keep it short and sweet, I left out some of the juicier bits...

Things got testy during the Q&A. In the post on Examiner.com, I mentioned how someone in the audience took one of the panelists to task for what he viewed as an inconsistency (talking about creativity and speaking out against internet piracy.

What I didn't mention was a woman who asked about what could be done to stop creativity from being stifled in 'go along to get along' corporate America. I was looking forward to the response from the panelists and was rather surprised when they shot the woman down. They completely disagreed with her assessment and cited personal examples of why this simply was not so. According to them there was plenty of creativity in corporate America and corporate America (or at least the movie studio one panelist mentioned) is open to it.

Um...what? They seemed to be more than a little removed from average American life...corporate America is exactly as the woman described and even if they don't deal with this on a daily basis, haven't they at least watched The Office?

Then, after the panelists displayed how they were out of touch, it was time for an audience member to do so. The panel and the moderator were very put off by a frustrated woman who asked 'if any black people would be able to ask a question'? Because she interjected so strongly as they were choosing some other person to ask a question, she was given the floor. As is often the case, she had been trying to get their attention and got more and more frustrated as other were chosen...but I didn't think it was because she was black.

Once again the focus was on corporations...the woman went on a little rant. The moderator, who had been extremely ruffled that race had been thrown into the mix in such a startling (and unfair) way, tried to smooth things over, asking if she had an actual question. The woman then asked a question that no one could answer: When will corporations be more fair?

The panelists shook their heads and one muttered, "I think she just wanted to be speak."

He was right and it was unfortunate that she let her frustration build to the point where she was ineffective because people were dismayed at the method she used to gain their attention.

2010-08-29T11:12:00.002-04:00

Cake Boss

In having one of those wonderful conversations you can only have with a four year old, the idea of making a pretend cake was on the table...but even though my niece proposed making the cake, she had no intention of being the one to do it-

Niece-let: You do it. I can't make a pretend cake; I'm not the boss.

Me: You're not the boss, but you just tell everyone what to do?

Niece-let: Yes.

2010-08-28T09:37:00.003-04:00

I Am a Patron of the A.R.T.S.

...the A.R.T.S. being the Addict Relationship Theatre Series as performed by my neighor's renters.

This time, one of their occasional shouting matches took place in the wee hours of the morning. Things quieted down after I banged on the floor with a floor lamp, but I was unable to get back to sleep. *sigh*

2010-08-16T07:20:00.000-04:00

Before and After

I agreed to get a makeover, thinking that it would be a fun thing to do, not imagining that I'd find it more uncomfortable than fun. And being the slightly rebellious-type that I am, I should have known that makeovers are not for me.

The trouble began when I didn't want to be bothered with foundation. I'd used the cleansing cream, the facial mask, the moisturizer, the lip exfoliant and the lip cream with no complaints. But I didn't want to apply any foundation--an utterance that brought all kinds of murmurs and consternation. I was a marked woman--one who did not go with the flow.

Under pressure, I agreed to the tinted moisturizer and I felt that the room of fully made up beauty consultants breathed a sigh of relief.

After I was tinted and others were foundation-ed, we were told to go take our "Before" photos. Before photos? Wouldn't the "Before" have been when I walked in...before the cleansing cream, the facial mask, the moisturizer, the lip exfoliant, lip cream and tinted moisturizer? Hmmmm....

After that I submitted to being made over. The make-up artist was puzzled at my less than flawless appearance, but it all made sense when I explained that I had opted for tinted moisturizer and not foundation. She dusted and powdered efficiently. I worried about losing an eyeball when she applied eyeliner, but I survived. At the start she'd asked if I wore makeup regularly because if not, she'd use a lighter touch, since I'd be unaccustomed to seeing myself with a lot of makeup. Honesty, even the lighter touch was too much for me. I was sent to check myself out in the mirror and did ask for more lip color. but overall I was not excited.

All gathered "oohed" and "ahhed" over everyone once they were made over. But one woman felt that I needed a special pep talk. She looked me right in the eyes to tell me how beautiful I was and that she wanted me to believe it too.

Now I know how the game is played...so I did not expect anyone to tell me that I was beautiful without makeup because the point is to either sell makeup or convince "guests" to become beauty consultants themselves. But I was pleased with my looks "Before" and not at all thrilled with my look "After" despite everyone else's amazement at how beautiful I'd suddenly become with the aid of their beauty products.

2010-08-15T12:09:00.003-04:00

It's What You Say AND How You Say It

In thinking about the whole 'Dr. Laura Says the N-word'controversy, I am reminded of how much intent matters. So rather than get into a discussion of who can and cannot say the N-word, it is more productive to remember that no one wants to be disrespected, especially not in their own home. The N-word ignites controversy because of its history, but any words can be spoken with sufficient venom and the object of those words will know that they were said to harm and not help.

And where was the woman's husband in all of this. While Dr. Laura, she of the perfectly-tuned funny bone, told the woman she shouldn't enter an interracial marriage unless she had a sense of humor, I'd say you don't want to be married to someone you cannot rely on to take your part when neighbors/relatives seek to make you uncomfortable.

2010-07-29T11:57:00.002-04:00

Claudette Colvin: Unheralded Civil Rights Activist

I just finished reading Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. Colvin was a teenager who would not give up her seat to a white woman on a Montgomery, Alabama bus nine months before Rosa Parks did. Colvin was roughly handled by the police and arrested.

What made her do it? After learning about her constitutional rights in school, Colvin was fired up. As a teen, she didn't understand how adults could continue to live with the kind of treatment black Montgomery bus riders experienced. The spark she lit did set the eventual bus boycott in motion, but Colvin herself was for the most part unappreciated. Black civil rights leaders didn't feel she was an appropriate representative. Over the years, her story and participation in the court case that led to the end of bus segregation in Montgomery has been overlooked.

Since this book was written for young readers, its main theme is about a teenager who spoke out and made a difference, although she was overlooked. One reviewer notes that even though it does not shy away from saying Colvin was left out, the book treads carefully when it comes to Dr. King and Rosa Parks, two of the big names in the Civil Rights movement.

Even if the book has a limited scope, so many details that get left out of the abbreviated version of the story of the Montgomery bus boycott really enrich my understanding of history: things like the way Colvin was ostracized for taking action, even more so when she adopted a natural hairstyle and later had a child out of wedlock; the transportation system set up to as an alternative (with used cars bought with donations and people turning over their car keys so their neighbors could get where they needed to go); and the white woman who wrote a letter to the editor in support of the boycott who was threatened, ostracized and killed herself a year later.

2010-07-27T08:54:00.002-04:00

I'm on the List

While I was up much later than I should have been cruising the internet superhighway, I clicked on a link to a blog post to find that I was actually mentioned in that blog post.

It is with great pleasure that I announce my inclusion in Spleeness's Funny Twitter Updates, vol.2.

2010-07-23T21:14:00.005-04:00

We, The Pizza

Everywhere I turn there is a temptation to challenge my quest to make sure that my shrinking clothes don't get any tighter. Tonight's opponent: We, The Pizza.

Yeah, sure the newest restaurant venture from that guy who was on one of those chef shows that I never saw, is all about oneness and equality...and yeah, I went by there, thus I set myself up, so it wasn't exactly a fair fight.

I'd heard that there was supposed to be a soft opening yesterday, so after postponing plans with a friend, I thought I'd stop by, grab a slice and go home. When I got there, people were outside eating pizza and the door was locked. But those who were eating were kind enough to tell me and a few others who were puzzled that Chef Spike (Mendelsohn, of Top Chef fame) was opening the door to let people in a few at a time and that everything--pizza, pop and beer was FREE. That was all I needed to hear.

I was tired and hungry, so I didn't think to take any photos and all I have is that lame clip art pizza slice. Some people took photos with Chef Spike, but that didn't interest me.

I tried the Sicilian and the Roasted Potato Pancetta, along with freshly made "I Love You Long Time Lemon Lime" soda that had real fruit slices and basil in it. When I asked for mint, the soda jerk (who was quite friendly) explained that this one called for basil and then went on to tell me about how great it was that they made the sodas right there and they could make all kinds of unique flavors (so why'd he nix my mint?!) That aside, he did a great job practicing his fresh-made soda sales pitch on me, even making mention of Spike's other restaurant (Good Stuff Eatery).

Metal pizza pans in varying sizes adorned the one of the walls, along with stylized photos, including one of a DC soup kitchen.

On my way out I thanked Chef Spike himself and he asked if I'd liked it. I told him the Roasted Potato Pancetta was amazing, but that the Sicilian was not so great. He said they didn't have any Sicilian. I described and then pointed to it. That jogged his memory. He explained that he thought the round pies were perfect, but that the other ones he hadn't quite mastered and that Sicilian is an art in itself. He didn't even seem boastful in his claim about the round pies and seemed genuinely frustrated about the Sicilian. Being an artisan of any kind does require at least a dash of perfectionism.

"You're doing better than me," I said.

2010-07-14T20:45:00.001-04:00

Bathroom Humor (an episode in which I channel Seinfeld)

Now I'm not really into bathroom humor. I don't like to talk about the bathroom and I like talking in the bathroom even less...

So I went to the bathroom at work today and put a ring I was wearing in the pocket of my blazer. I made some wrong move though because it flew out of pocket onto the floor...in the stall next to me.

I could see that it was right next to another woman's foot.

I froze for a few seconds. My instinct to grab it seemed wrong because I know I wouldn't react kindly to a seeing hand appearing from the next stall. And as I said, I don't want to talk in the bathroom either. And it didn't seem smart to try to wait until I exited my stall and she exited hers.

Then I told myself snap out of it. This wasn't an episode of Seinfeld. I spoke and we both laughed and laughed. She pushed the ring my way so I could pick it up.

And when it was all over, I saw that it was the big boss, who fortunately has a sense of humor.

2010-07-13T12:12:00.002-04:00

Parting Words or Fare Thee Well

The other day at work I heard a man at work on the phone grilling his teenage son about his plans for the day--whether or not the son was wearing the father's clothes and what time he was leaving to go somewhere. "Dear old dad" signed off of the conversation with the words, "Be smart."

When I was a child, my mother's parting words to me as I was on my way out the door were almost always, "Be good."

I found it interesting that a man would tell his son to "Be smart." However, I don't want to be overly simplistic about gender differences, and say that of course a man would tell a male child to be smart and a woman would tell a female child to be good. After all, I don't know anything about this man or his son.

My real take-away (and I do not blame my mother for this) is that there have been many times when I would have been smarter if I hadn't been so concerned with being good.

2010-07-08T11:34:00.002-04:00

Overheard at the Office: Affectionate Insults

"When people come to my desk, they sing."

"Could it be that they're singing so you don't have the opportunity to speak?"

2010-07-06T11:12:00.004-04:00

I Can Bring Home the Bacon...

Not too long ago a fellow blogger who lives in Congress Heights said she was not returning to our local Giant because it was just too much. I responded that this was too bad, but I did understand. As much as I want to put money into the neighborhood, I don't always shop there. Still, it is good to live near a supermarket because if I need something I don't have to go too far to get it.

Yesterday, I was tired and with a high of 100 or so, I didn't want to go too far. I had some time off and wanted to try a new recipe that require bacon that I did not have. So I ventured out and the drama began in the parking lot.

Two men dressed as women were causing a commotion and of course didn't care. One had on a bustier and one had on a bra. While they conversed loudly about something that only they understood, people in the parking stared and talk about them aloud. Near the door a woman loudly lamented that one of the men had such smooth, pretty skin, saying how unfair it was.

Inside I was greeted by a chewed up chicken bone in one aisle and spills in other aisles that had been left, but frames with caution cones. As I waited in line, a man knocked over something else and yelled loudly , "Clean up on aisle nine."

When I got back to the parking lot a rep for some obscure mayoral candidate had set up shop right in front of my car. It wasn't until I got in and turned on the engine that he and the man he was speaking to decided to move.

But, hey, I had my bacon.

2010-07-01T10:51:00.002-04:00

The African Presence in Mexico Exhibit Leaves the Smithsonian on July 4

The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum has a great exhibit on the African presence in Mexico and it is leaving July 4. So if you're nearby, go check it out.

Even if you are not nearby, you can take the Shuttle Anacostia to get to the museum and to the Fredrick Douglass National Historical site.

2010-06-22T17:12:00.002-04:00

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

While I was at "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment," an exhibit created by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and housed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, I overheard plenty of discussions that pointed to the necessity of such an exhibit.

One visitor asked aloud, "Tina Turner, she was in Dreamgirls, right?" (Um...no.)

Much more poignant, was the conversation between some adults and kids. As they all marveled at the size of a boom box behind the museum glass, the adults told the kids that boom boxes were a precursor to the iPod. "We used to carry those things around."

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: Apollo Theater Exhibit at the Smithsonian

2010-06-01T15:03:00.005-04:00

Origins

While I laughed a while back when I read that some kids don't really know where chicken nuggets come from, the other day I thought about how separated we all are from the origins of things, me included.

For example, I went to the National Museum of the American Indian where they had a table set up to make leis (the one I made is on the right). I've seen so many leis made with plastic flowers that I marveled for a second at the thought that originally leis were made with real flowers...real flowers that smell really good.

Then I got to thinking...if the original purpose of nosegays and perhaps even bridal bouquets was to ward off the unpleasant smells that come with infrequent bathing, perhaps leis served the same purpose.

From what I've read leis can be made of things other than flowers and they really are supposed to symbolize affection.

2010-05-13T22:10:00.004-04:00

Big Ideas, Little Fiction

So I've been saying a lot about some rather unpleasant issues in Southeast DC, so I'd like to highlight at least on fairly event on this side of town--

DC Microfiction Performances in Anacostia and Dupont this Weekend

2010-05-10T21:59:00.004-04:00

The Ramayana: Behind the Scenes (or Sound the Alarm)

I wrote a blog post for Examiner.com about The Ramayana, the Constellation Theatre Company's latest production. But what I didn't mention was that at one point we had to evacuate the theater...

One of the characters, a monkey, had just said something about 'being late for school,' when an alarm bell rang. Considering that it started just after that line, for a nanosecond I thought it might have been some strange, anachronistic sound effect. Sure, the play take place in Asia in ancient times, but since monkeys were talking, anything was fair game, right?

The actors looked hesitant, but in true "the show must go on" fashion, they did not stop. My eye darted to where I knew the director was sitting. She had a strange look on her face and she too looked hesitant. The alarm continued to ring and the director stood up and told us we all had to leave.

Once the fire department cleared us, we re-entered and watched the rest of the show. The same thing happened while I was watching a movie once. For some reason it was must easier to get back into the play than it was to get back into the movie...I'm not sure why.

The movie theater gave us nothing for our trouble, while Constellation did provide us with an easy-to-remember discount code to reduced-price tickets to their first show of the next season.

2010-05-08T16:35:00.002-04:00

Turning Up the Heat

I'm taking a writing workshop and last week's workshop hit very close to home.

Our instructor led us through making things much worse for our character. Asking us to consider:

What are some things you could do to make it even more difficult for your character to reach his/her goals?

Now think of even more obstacles.

What if your character does not achieve their dream, can you still wrangle some happiness out of that?

As for me, real life feels a little like someone has been turning up the heat. Every time I turn around, there is something else. And yes, it could always be worse, but that doesn't mean it is not bad enough as it is.

2010-05-06T17:53:00.005-04:00

Disturbing the Peace

As you may have read in other posts, my neighbors and I oppose the Peacoholics' plan to open up an "apartment"/independent living facility/non-group home with a computer lab for the community/would-be condos for qualified youth.

They have popped up a lot in the news lately. Just today,I've seen them in 3 articles--

Group sues SE D.C. neighborhood commissioner over libel (This was the first Peacoholics' article o' the day. The deny plans to house 16-year-olds, but then the article says they will house 16-21 year olds.)

Gray's making mayoral race about ethics seen as big risk (In this article the Peacoholics' founder makes a guest appearance as a Mayor Fenty's heavy.)

Peaceoholics Took Betts Suspects on Retreat (If you are not in DC, you should know that the murder of beloved middle school principal Brian Betts has sent shockwaves through the city. While they did not harbor the suspect after Betts' murder, they did take one of the suspects on a retreat while he was being sought because he ran away from a juvenile detention center.)

Related posts:

Peacoholics at War
Properly Valued

No Peace, No Progress

2010-04-29T17:26:00.003-04:00

We Made The City Paper...For What It's Worth

After a lot of e-mails and agitating, me neighbors and I have gotten some media coverage about this "it's just an apartment although it will only house male ex-offenders from we don't know where" madness.

I'm not crazy about this article, but at least the word is getting out.

Peaceoholics at War

I luv the very patriotic stance the Peacoholics take-

"The founder fathers of our country are ex-offenders..."

I also like how Marion Barry, of all people, says we are "selfish" for opposing this group home.

And the assertion that the people working on the building won't get hired by anyone else (*cue the violins) matters little. The disadvantaged youth were only there for the initial phase--now that have a work force that includes many Latinos. One of the Peacoholics tried to egg my neighbor on, asking her didn't it bother her that the apartments being built by a developer across the street mainly employed Latinos. The makeup of the current construction crew on the Peacoholic's building is no different than the one across the street.

And who cares who is working on the building across the street anyway? These so-called 'addicts to peace' are antagonistic and divisive.

Since it is The City Paper, they did zero in on drama and make it seem political. To me as a homeowner, it is not about politics--it is about my home. And people in the area, homeowners and renters alike are not in favor of this. Renters have said they are leaving because they cannot live near such a facility.

And it brushes past the fact that according the DC law (which the government selectively enforces, of course), this facility is not legal.

At least this blogger gets it-

Latest Peacoholics Drama

2010-04-28T07:52:00.000-04:00

Stuff I Wrote Roundup

I haven't done one of these in a while, but here are links to some things I wrote recently (none of the ghostwriting, of course :-P)

$5 Gets You into the French Embassy's DC Street Performance Festival & Brunch Garden Party- May 2

See the Family-Friendly Artful Animals Exhibit at the Nat'l Museum of African Art

The 2010 Rhythm Road Free Concert Series at National Geographic

Ancient tale of ‘Gilgamesh' gets a modern makeover

Classic tale of dysfunctional family comes to Bowie

Experienced cast, crew ready for the ‘Impossible Dream'

2010-04-27T13:21:00.006-04:00

Properly Valued

There is so much I could say, but in short, I left a meeting last Friday with community leaders, the Peacoholics and officials from DCHD and DCRA absolutely disgusted.

If the scenario where a building that once belonged to an associate of Marion Barry's is purchased at a steep discount with government funds by a non-profit group with ties to the mayor with the aim to make it a facility for ex-offender youth within a few feet of a home for battered women and children and down the street from a homeless shelter is not cronyism and extremely poor government planning, then I don't know what is.

DCRA continues to insist that is is simply and apartment building and that the use of it is incidental.

DCHD implies that opposing the facility or taking any legal action is tantamount to hurting the disadvantaged children of DC since such things would inhibit their ability to implement programs.

While they attempted a new charm offensive during the meeting ('You could be on an advisory board for the new facility.'), supporters of the Peacoholics followed us for over an hour once the meeting was over.

We fear for our safety, our neighborhood and our investment in that neighborhood.

There is so much wrong with the entire scenario, but here is one thing that struck me: the continued implications and outright accusations that we are wrong for wanting to protect our own interests.

One of my neighbors spoke at length about how she has worked hard and now feels that she is being penalized. Had she messed up, the government might be more willing to help her. I feel her. We are not rich folks preying on a poor neighborhood as some would like to think and we are not disadvantaged youth either. Being neither, we matter little.

I thought about that the next day when I read this is in Kim McLarin's book review of a novel by a African American author-

"[the author's] central focus seems to be the tension between racial solidarity and naked individualism, between loyalty to race and family and loyalty strictly to one's self."

My neighbors and I have been branded disloyal and even told we are "thinking white" because we oppose a group home for ex-offenders and because we have dared to utter the words "property value." (Although many of the renters on our street also feel the same way.)

Everyone in this scenario from the Peacoholics to DCRA to DCHD has gone for theirs and is protecting their own interests and we intend to do the same. I think with the exception of one homeowner present, everyone sitting at the table was African American. There is nothing disloyal about protesting an injustice, even if it brings you into conflict with people who look just like you.

2010-04-21T19:05:00.004-04:00

No Peace, No Progress: Now the NIMBY is me)

"No problem can be solved at the same level of consciousness that created it."
-Albert Einstein

I've written about how my neighbors and I oppose the Peaceaholics' plan to put
a group home for ex-offenders (which they and their friends in city government insist is merely an "apartment") next door to us and a shelter for battered women and their children.

Last night I rushed from teaching a class to get to a neighborhood council meeting where this topic was on the agenda. As I expected, I heard shouting as I got closer to the meeting. Then I heard someone yell that the meeting was adjourned.

What I didn't expect was that simply because I walked into the room and spoke to people who are not in favor of the project, a Peaceaholics supporter would zero in on me. She approached in the name of dialogue, but could barely contain herself. I heard about how I was one of those people who make a lot of money that prey on the community. I noted that I did not make a lot of money (my neighbors and I heard some of the same rhetoric--with the race card thrown in to boot--when we attempted to meet with the Peaceaholics before) and that if we both lived there, we were neighbors.

When others intervened, she calmed down but it didn't last. She did, however, take a moment out to calmly and wholeheartedly agree with one of our white male neighbors when he asserted that we are concerned for our safety. But then she ramped up again and repeatedly yelled in my face that I was not relevant because I didn't grow up in the neighborhood. I walked away and out of the building.

What I didn't expect was to find out the next day that the same woman who got in my face actually pushed one of my neighbors. The two were not talking at the time; she approached after my neighbor had stopped talking to her and went to speak to someone else.

What I didn't expect was to hear was that members of the Peaceaholics, including the top brass, followed another one of my neighbors to her car to intimidate and frighten her.

You can read other accounts of the meeting here:

Washington City Paper-
Chaos in Congress Heights Over Peaceaholics Group Home

Congress Heights on the Rise blog-
OK, This is Going to Hurt but Somebody Had to Say It

2010-04-13T09:47:00.002-04:00

Christ Rock to Remake Kurosawa movie (Or, a blog post in which I refer to a previous blog post-twice)

I just read that Chris Rock is remaking/adapting a movie by Japanese legend Akira Kurosawa and of course that made me think of his Death at a Funeral remake, but the article also reminded me that some of his other movies, like I Think I Love My Wife, were remakes too.

The Kurosawa remake is a surprise though...I may not like all of his movies, but it is a smart move, business-wise. Most American audiences have not seen the originals and you get a proven plot and structure to play around with, without having to start from scratch.

Related-
How a Discussion about the "Death at a Funeral" remake reminded me that we still have a ways to go...

2010-04-06T15:24:00.003-04:00

How NOT to be Popular

"You won't be very popular if you're sending viruses," my new and rather upset co-worker admonished me the other day, sounding like a 1950s etiquette pamphlet on how to win friends and influence people.

She had used her company-issued computer to send me a file to edit via the company-run intranet. I edited that file on my company-issued computer and sent it back.

And somehow a virus wormed its way into the file. I guess someone had to take the blame.

As a contractor, the only thing I usually bring to work is my virus-free self (and maybe my lunch)...so how was this my fault?

2010-04-01T22:25:00.003-04:00

Puppy Luv / Friend This

A guy who asked me out once, but couldn't be bothered to follow through suggested that I friend his dog on Facebook.

Maybe the dog will buy me dinner....

2010-03-25T11:11:00.005-04:00

I Just Wanted a Tomato
I stopped by Eastern Market in DC to get a tomato on my way home the other day. I got my tomato, but left more puzzled than I normally would have been.

The market vendor who sold me my tomato looked at me and said, "This my grandson." I felt obliged to smile at the little boy he indicated was related to him and thought nothing of it. But then he said, in broken English, something like, "He is not the black, but he is part." The man was Asian.

Before I could react or think, one of his employees, approached and asked in a thick Hispanic accent if the little boy was nicknamed "cucaracha."

In my mind, I imagine that no one in this situation meant to offend, but still I was perplexed, so I took my tomato and left. Sometimes I am a crusader for justice, sometimes I want to set people straight and sometimes I just want to get home and make my dinner.

2010-03-19T10:00:00.003-04:00

"Advancing the Economic Security of Unmarried Women"

So I've still got finance on the brain...when I got the invite for a forum about the economic security of unmarried women at the Center for American Progress, I couldn't pass it up--

Center for American Progress talks about "Advancing the Economic Security of Unmarried Women"

2010-03-14T18:48:00.002-04:00

"Study finds median wealth for single black women at $5"

A Facebook friend posted this article and I posted it there, but it certainly deserves to be posted and plastered everywhere. I suppose I thought that by choosing writing/editing, a career path the unsteady income, I was kind of an exception, but it looks like that is not the case. Overall, black women aren't doing so well financially. I'm glad the article points out the complexity of this issue--it isn't because black women keep shopping or getting their hair done that they are at a financial disadvantage.

"The popular image is they spend too much, which is the reason they are running up credit card and consumer debt, but the cost of living has risen faster than income, and they need to go into debt for basic daily necessities," Ms. Lui said. "It's compounded because unemployment is twice as high in the black community than it is in the white community."

For all working-age black women 18 to 64, the financial picture is bleak. Their median household wealth is only $100. Hispanic women in that age group have a median wealth of $120.

"That means half of [black women] have a net worth of more than $100 and half have a net worth of less than $100," Ms. Lui said. "So that gives you an idea of how far in debt some women of color are."

Married or cohabitating white women have a median wealth of $167,500. Married or cohabitating black women have a median net worth of $31,500.

The reasons behind the daunting financial challenges black women face are numerous and complex.

__________

"If wealth was based on hard work, African-Americans would be the wealthiest people in our nation," she said. "It's not about behavior. It's about government policies. Who does the government help and who is it not helping?"

READ MORE:
Study finds median wealth for single black women at $5

2010-03-12T13:08:00.003-05:00

The Hair Divide

In a conversation with, I think, six black women the topic of hair came up. That topic is kind of a given with all women and yet I felt surprisingly left out. Now, talking hair recently with a girlfriend who is white, we discussed products we liked, etc. and I didn't feel excluded. But in a convo with only black women I felt as if I couldn't get a word in edgewise because of my natural hairstyle.

Of the six, two of us have locs and we stood by politely while the hair conversation started because one of our friends had found a new hairdresser. I can certainly talk hairdressers, but since I mostly do my locs at home, I had to recent adventures. Plus, the talk centered on who could to the best job and the methods used to help hair grow and who could get your hair really straight. And while I remember the days when making my hair as straight as possible and counting the days until my next perm was an obsession, I took part, but couldn't fully participate.

At one point when the subject of texture came up, I joked- "Hey, I've got texture." This was acknowledged, politely, before everyone except my other loced friend and I, turned back to the real matter at hand--who could produce the results. I even turned to the other woman with locs and purposefully started to discuss our hair, not that anyone else cared.

Since we were waiting to leave an event and wanted to see that everyone got safely to their cars, we waited it out. I don't know why, really, since the conversation went on for quite a while. I know majority rules, but for how long?

2010-03-06T18:02:00.005-05:00

In Pursuit of Me: The Life and Times of Christylez Bacon or Escaping Southeast

Last night I saw, "In Pursuit of Me," a autobiographical theatrical concert from Christylez Bacon, a young performer from Southeast DC. You can read about in the review I wrote for my blog on Examiner.com--

In Pursuit of Me: The Life and Times of Grammy nominated DC Performer Christylez Bacon

Since (for the moment) all roads on this blog lead to Congress Heights, I will say that the show gave me plenty of food for thought. One avenue my mind traveled down was the one that says taking people out of their environment can be a life-changing experience. In the show, Bacon talks about how his life changed after he was given the opportunity to leave southeast DC and attend a two week arts program in Colorado.

While discussing our disagreement with the plan the Peaceaholics have to open a group home to rehabilitate troubled youth on our very troubled block, I learned more about one of my neighbors.

The Peaceaholics told us that a large percentage of DC's youthful offenders come from southeast DC and that they didn't want to put their "problem" in someone else's neighborhood. My neighbor told me that, while she was not in trouble with the law, she was one of those kids who was given the chance to leave her problematic Baltimore 'hood to go to school in New England and that this gave her new perspective and altered the course of the life. Some people will change their lives no matter where they are, but for many, a change of scenery helps. Does it really help to bring people back to where they were before? While the cost of a building in southeast is low and the facility would be near metro, it is also surrounded by other social service facilities and many of the temptations that likely lured these kinds in the first place.

2010-03-03T14:19:00.004-05:00

NIMBY? Yup.

All this unrest about how DC government (does not) regulate what facilities go where got me to thinking about the first time I heard the term NIMBY (Not In My Backyard). I learned it from a teacher, who was no doubt fired up about something. She didn't really bother explaining that made her think of the term; she just explained the term to us.

I think that same teacher taught us the "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" Song.

Fish and Chips and Vinegar
Vinegar Vinegar
Fish and Chips and Vinegar
Pepper Pepper Pepper Salt

Don't throw your junk in my backyard
My backyard, my backyard,
Don't throw your junk in my backyard
My backyard's full.

(Listen to Fish and Chips and Vinegar, traditionally sung as a round.)

After my neighbors and I met with the Peaceaholics and they (sort of) got (some of) the point, they offered to buy us dinner. I left, but those who stayed reported that the man who wants to put a group home for troubled youth right near us and other social service facilities remarked that they didn't want to put their "problem" in someone else's neighborhood. If these kids are such a problem, why do you think we want them nearby? In some ways, our ward is burdened with various elements that people do not want in other parts of the city. I say let's spread the love.

2010-03-02T08:35:00.006-05:00

No Peace, No Progress

Last week some of my neighbors and I sat down for an extremely tense discussion with higher-ups from the Peaceaholics, a non-profit mediation group that claims to be "addicted to peace." Since we have already have a number of social service agencies within a few feet of each other on our block, we do not welcome the thought of the Peaceaholics adding a group home to the mix. And since they gave the community no notice whatsoever, we wanted to discuss in with them and our ward representative. At one point they said that the building would be regular apartments and that they didn't have to tell us anything. (Although these apartments would be only for young men ("children," they said) ages 16-24 or 15-21 who have had brushes with the law or been in jail, who would have a curfew and adult supervision.)

Before they owned the building they intend to use for a group home, the grounds surrounding it were well-kept. After they bought it, it went to pot. I asked them how could we expect them to keep up with their young charges when they hadn't even managed to keep the grass cut or shovel the snow in front of their building? They told me that we could call them and tell them what needed to be done and this was our "opportunity" to address the issue. Huh? So we have to keep up our own building and become part-time building managers for their building too?

They told us they'd give us written documentation outlining their plan before the meeting. It never came. Then we got a hostile e-mail from the founder, casting blame on us for an irate phone call he received from a stranger.

From: rmoten
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:51 PM

I've been getting a lot of call from people calling me on my personal number and its so sad to see how we as a people think about our own people, however I'm not talking it personal.
I will just continue to do Gods work and I look forward to meeting with you and all the concerned citizens.~Ron Moten

While it is true that we were opposing something they wanted to do, nothing about their demeanor or tone said "peace."

They threw the race card in our faces and made assumptions about people they did not know, telling a tableful of hardworking black folks that we don't care about black folks. It irks me when someone calls me "sister" and uses the word as a weapon. Where's the peace in that?

Mr. Moten's parting shot on his way out the door after we met with him was, "And I don't make $90,000 like the City Paper said. I don't need government money. I'm a bad man."

While I don't always agree with The City Paper, the article they did last fall on he Peaceaholics was on point:

What Cost Peace?
The D.C. government has given Ronald Moten's Peaceoholics $10 million to quash street beefs. What has it gotten?

2010-03-01T17:50:00.004-05:00

Stuff I Wrote + People I Saw: Bacon on the Metro Edition

I saw Christylez Bacon on the train not too long ago. He told me was going to the Library of Congress to sound check and leave his stuff for a performance with Michelle Obama tomorrow. Apparently, the performers have to leave instruments, etc. for security to check them out before tomorrow's performance. He didn't have a guitar so I guess he was just going to leave his spoons...in any case I was super-jealous and told him to say "hi" to Michelle for me.

We discussed DC Metro's "temporary" raise in prices and as usual, he had a rather comedic take on the matter. I told him I was going to see his show, "In Pursuit of Me" at The Atlas.

**********************

Monday, January 25, 2010
It's the Beatbox!

I interviewed progressive hip hop artists Christylez Bacon, who has been nominated for a Grammy, for my Examiner.com blog. Mr. Bacon beatboxes and also plays the guitar and spoons. He is very talented and also hilarious, but I didn't quite get all of that into the post and wrote it in a rather straightforward way. His Grammy nomination is for his collaboration on a children's album, while the music he does on his own is more grown-up.

He asked me what I'd done for MLK Weekend and I said I was mostly sick, but I did manage to get to the "Let Freedom Ring" MLK Celebration featuring India.Arie at the Kennedy Center. First he suggested that I go to Soul Vegetarian and get some drink with lemon, ginger and echinacea and then he asked if India Arie had a woman from Ivory Coast with her. Apparently, he had recently run into them and pronounced India Arie to be very cool.

DC native Christylez Bacon Nominated for a Grammy

2010-02-25T12:07:00.003-05:00

Stuff I Wrote: Mary McLeod Bethune & Eleanor Roosevelt Brought to Life at National Portrait Gallery Performance

While at the performance, I saw Johnnetta B. Cole, the first "Sista Prez" of my alma mater, Spelman College,sitting in the first row. Before Cole got the job, Spelman, an HBCU for black women had never had a black woman as president. We exchanged cards. How cool is that?

Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt Brought to Life at National Portrait Gallery Performance

2010-02-22T14:44:00.005-05:00

A Tale of Two Pillows

A long while back, I bought two cloth placemats that I never used as such for some reason. Less than a long while back, I bought a pillow from IKEA, that I did use as such...until it got all weird and lumpy and the insides separated into individual tufts of cottage cheese. And then a while back I got the idea that I could combine these two purchases into a pillow. But of course, I proceeded to just let these items sit in unused.

Until one day when I was especially mopey and decided I needed some creative project to give me some instant gratification. I finally made the pillow I'd thought about, sewing it by hand. Being all proud of my handiwork, I informed my mother, who really was not all that impressed.

Later I learned that she was less than thrilled because unbeknownst to me, she'd also been thinking that I should make a pillow and give an item a new life. Somehow she managed to keep this to herself while I talked about the pillow I'd made since her pillow-making materials were in a box that hadn't arrived at my house yet.

She had saved a rice sack, even though she didn't know what to do with it. Then she came across an article about how vintage grain sacks were very chic at the moment. And it hit her-she'd send me her rice sack and some pillow stuffing. But then she couldn't find any pillow stuffing materials. So after she hunted some down, she gets a phone call from me where I tell her that I just made a pillow from an old one that I had laying around and that I had another old pillow that could be used to make even more pillows.

Great minds think alike and although my mother was kind of dismayed, I told her at least she did not sell her hair to buy me a chain for my watch (If you don't get that because haven't read The Gift of the Magi, you need to read it. It is one of the greatest short stories of all time.)

All's well that ends well, I say. Now I have two pillows.

2010-02-19T13:53:00.004-05:00

Stuff I Wrote: Judges take a leading role in a play about Thurgood Marshall

When I spoke to Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown for the article below, I can't remember how it came up but he joked about going to same law school as Barack Obama, saying that he had to use whatever claim to fame he had. He was cool and didn't take himself too seriously and that is something I can't say about some other politicians I've interviewed.

Judges take a leading role in play about Thurgood Marshall

2010-02-15T22:08:00.005-05:00

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
This past weekend I went to a party and happened to step into the kitchen just as the hostess was involved in some complex dishwasher-loading calculations.

She asked me many questions that I had no idea how to answer. Should these things go this or that way? Was placing thing X in Y manner an inefficient use of space? I'm afraid I wasn't much help. I've gotten much better at using my own dishwasher--a far cry from the days when I used to marvel at how my mother could always rearrange things to find the space needed for that one extra thing. Actually, I'm now quite proud of myself; my dishwasher arranging skills are evidence that I've grown into my spatial intelligence. But her queries were too technical for me.

"Asians don't use dishwashers!" she shrieked. Apparently, she only had the dishwasher installed or repaired (I forget which) because she rented out her place over the summer and thought that an American renter would want such a convenience.

I was at a loss as how to really be of use, but tried to make encouraging comments. Although I confessed to growing up with a dishwasher, I didn't have the heart to tell her that while many middle-class Americans use dishwashers, we don't actually think about them.

2010-01-31T15:41:00.004-05:00

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"

I am so very late to this because I've been working a lot, much like Princess Tiana.

I went in to see Disney's Frog Princess movie with great anticipation. A new Disney movie, the first one featuring an African-American princess--how could I not be excited?

So when I found lots of things I was not crazy about, it was not because I went in focused on being critical.

First of all, the songs were so-so. I've walked out of most Disney fairy tale films singing a song, but this movie had no memorable songs. As someone who can hear a song once and pick up most of it, I was disappointed that none of the songs in this movie stuck with me.

And I couldn't help but notice Disney decided to get "real" with this movie. With the exception of Cinderella, I don't know that I've seen a Disney movie princess who had to work so hard.

The Disney-fication of early 20th century New Orleans was good for the kids, I guess, but it didn't work for me. Tiana's mother is a seamstress for a wealthy white family and though you see the disparity between the employer's mansion and Tiana's humble home, little is said about it how things got to be that way.

Tiana is a "playmate" to her mother's employer's daughter and due to Tiana's good nature and Disney's decision to grant the spoiled heiress a heart of gold, their relationship is less complicated than such dealings might have been in real life.

And when Tiana's entrepreneurial efforts are thwarted, she is told that it is because of her "background," although again, it is Disney so no one delves into what her background is. I'm looking at it critically, but I guess this is progress for Disney. After all their first attempt to include African-inspired themes in a major cartoon only involved animals. The Lion King was an amazing movie, yet it allowed them to play it safe, in some ways. Plus, the princess in this movie spend a lot of her time as a frog.

But back to what I alluded to at the beginning: Tiana works hard for the money. So hard for it honey. She is not a lady-in-waiting hoping to be rescued. And although her prince is less than industrious at the beginning, he proves himself to be supportive and willing to help her with her dreams of running her own business.

I know this is modern life, but for me that was no fairy tale. Black women in America work hard and have done so ever since we arrived. Tiana works and works to save up only to see her dreams derailed because of her "background." And then her future prince is a spoiled rich boy who just wants to have a good time. Yeah, he redeems himself, but how many times have we seen that story--hardworking woman (of any color) hooks up with a guy who wants her to 'lighten up' while he continues to lay around?

Some people have applauded the movie because Tiana is so very enterprising and I get it. She is a great modern role model for young girls. Yet, being who I am at this particular juncture of history, I keep wondering why a sista can't get carried off to a castle where she will presumably be waited on hand and foot?

2010-01-25T14:10:00.003-05:00

It's the Beatbox!

I interviewed progressive hip hop artists Christylez Bacon, who has been nominated for a Grammy, for my Examiner.com blog. Mr. Bacon beatboxes and also plays the guitar and spoons. He is very talented and also hilarious, but I didn't quite get all of that into the post and wrote it in a rather straightforward way. His Grammy nomination is for his collaboration on a children's album, while the music he does on his own is more grown-up.

He asked me what I'd done for MLK Weekend and I said I was mostly sick, but I did manage to get to the "Let Freedom Ring" MLK Celebration featuring India.Arie at the Kennedy Center. First he suggested that I go to Soul Vegetarian and get some drink with lemon, ginger and echinacea and then he asked if India Arie had a woman from Ivory Coast with her. Apparently, he had recently run into them and pronounced India Arie to be very cool.

DC native Christylez Bacon Nominated for a Grammy

2010-01-19T10:12:00.002-05:00

Good things come to those who wait
I've waited in more than a few lines to get free admittance to movies and shows, but yesterday's line-waiting was certainly more than worth it, since-

The President and First Lady Attended the Kennedy Center's "Let Freedom Ring" MLK Day Celebration, which featured India Arie.

2010-01-18T15:12:00.006-05:00

How a Discussion about the "Death at a Funeral" remake reminded me that we still have a ways to go...

Today is Martin Luther King Day and you don't need me to tell you that to echo King's final speech--we have not quite reached the mountaintop yet. Still, I will tell you about an interesting Facebook convo I had about the uselessness of the Chris Rock-produced remake of the British movie "Death at a Funeral." (Previews for the original and the remake are below.)

When someone complained that this was unnecessary and "why can't black people see the original movie?"

(Now, I, a black person who lives in America, did see the British film and I really didn't find it all that funny, so I doubt I'd see the remake.)

In addition to mentioning that, I also pointed out--
1) all of the actors playing major roles in the movie are not black (in fact, one--Peter Dinklage--plays the same exact role in the new version that he played in the original
2) the remake is for American audiences, not just for the black people who live in America.

The response was that if they wanted to appeal to America in general, why not have a mixed cast?

It is the same old story-in order to appear non-threatening and not turn off certain audiences, we need to be inclusive. At the same time, no one thinks to include us. I don't even remember one token person of color being in the original film, but I had no complaints. Yet, if someone of color wants to produce a film and give roles to more than a few people of color, they run the risk of alienating folks who are only used to seeing themselves dominate.

Death at a Funeral 2007

Death at a Funeral 2010

2010-01-12T16:40:00.004-05:00

"It's not what they call you; it's what you answer to..."

So while everyone is talking about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's comments about being "blacker than Obama," and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's assertion about Obama's skin color and amazing ability to not always talk in the Negro dialect (I think liniguists call this code switching), I was less concerned about their definitions of what it means to be Black and more concerned about a class of students who told me that "getting over" was what Black people do.

Working at fast food restaurants and skimming profits. Switching the tags in the store on clothes so they could get DKNY and Calvin Klein at the prices they wanted. Only one student spoke up to say that she pays the correct price for whatever she gets because she had the experience of nearly being fired/jailed after working in a store and having her manager steal money when she was responsible for counting profits.

Of course politicians should be censured for their foolish remarks, but in the end what really matters is how we define ourselves.

2009-12-07T19:07:00.003-05:00

What's in a Name?

As a child, I would always go to kitschy stands that were filled with plastic license plates and other items bearing people's names in the hopes that one day I'd see something with my name on it. I'm not sure why I kept doing this when I knew very well that my name was not common enough to be included in the lot of names that received this honor.

I like my name a lot and I like that it is unusual, but even I was not immune to wanting some affirmation from the gift shop industry. Once, my father had a name card made for me.

So I recounted this memory to a couple of folks as we approached the gift shop at Luray Caverns, a tourist attraction that has the obligatory rack of name-related items. For moment I thought to look, even though I told myself that this was ridiculous. I glanced at the street signs that started with "J" and saw "Jade." Figures. Still, I kept looking.

And then what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a street sign bearing my name! Finally. Jada Blvd. There were twosigns and the child in me wanted to snatch up both. The grown-up in me thought better of it and left the other sign there for the next "Jada."

The importance being named and seeing your name was brought home to me again later that week when I noticed that at work my name was left off of the staff list on a program. Earlier, I'd been left off of birthday greeting for the boss as well. Both times I was told that someone had used an old list that no one had bothered to update.

2009-11-18T06:30:00.002-05:00

The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama--Ruined

I was given the opportunity to interview Lynn Nottage, author of Ruined, the play that won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Kennedy Center and the Enough Project present a staged reading of Ruined

Lynn Nottage takes her 2009 Pulitzer-prize winning play, Ruined, on the road

2009-10-06T20:52:00.002-04:00

The Fight of A Lifetime

Today's celebrity athletes are not the only ones to triumph over adversity only to find that self-discipline the greatest battle of all:

Washington Post's Wil Haygood to Discuss His Book on Sugar Ray Robinson-10/19

2009-09-24T07:16:00.001-04:00

Making Due

One dreary morning a few weeks ago, I got up and stumbled (if one can stumble while driving) over the DC's Half Street inspection station to get my car inspected, as was required by DC law. Other state, like Virginia, license various gas stations to inspect cars. But not DC. One and all must make their way to Half Street where you exit your car and walk through an adjacent building where windows allow you to watch as your car goes down the line, being subjected to various tests.

I chose a 6:15 am slot because the lines were allegedly shorter then and I didn't see how I'd fit it in during the day, what with work and all. The attendant who came to inspect my car chided me for being less than awake, as if we all should be bright-eyed at that hour. He was at work. I was not.

I'd recently had an oil change and gotten my brakes checked, so I felt confident about my car's ability to pass inspection...and yet it did not. Why? Because of a damaged windshield wiper blade. On Facebook, a friend would later point out that DC road are filled with cars that lack doors and radiators, yet mine failed because of the wiper blade.

This joke later served as a kind of prediction when I learned that to trim the budget DC had nixed the inspections all together. Now people really can drive around in cars held together by rubber bands because the city will not be regulating this aspect of their lives.

I got the new wiper blade in anticipation of returning for the follow-up inspection before learning that the inspections were ending. Since I tend to get philosophical about every and anything, so I try to look at it as a call to go for a higher standard. I'd been making do with that wiper blade for so long, I didn't notice it anymore.

2009-09-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Guiding Light

When I heard earlier this year that Guiding Light, TV's oldest soap opera (one of the few that made the crossover from radio waves to television and still survived), was going to end I felt a little twinge.

And since I've been so busy, I missed the final day (last Friday), so I felt an even bigger pang then. To me Guiding Light and Gramma are always linked. My grandmother watched Guiding Light on a regular basis and for years after she died, I did too. Even when my mother abandoned the show and questioned why I watched it, I stayed true. In college, my friend watched Young and the Restless. Gramma watched Y&R too, so I joined them because it was a social experience, but Guiding Light was still #1 in my heart.

Later, I learned Spanish and got hooked on novelas while studying abroad in Costa Rica. When I got to graduate school, I found classmates who liked novelas too, so I was in good company.

These days, I can't make the time to watch novelas or soap operas...well, I do watch Ugly Betty, which is a hybrid--an American nighttime soap that has some characteristics of a novela...but on the very rare ocassions that I do catch a soap opera or see a novela, the melodrama is more apparent than it was when I was younger. But I do not despise or make fun of them as some people do because I recognize the power of story. I once heard someone refer to wrestling as a "male soap opera" and in a way it is. The wrestling federation recognized that even those who were dying to see violence, still wanted a story arc to put the fighting in context.

And so it is is with the struggles of life. We tell ourselves stories to make sense of it all. Sure, there is something manipulative in the way that a soap opera will leave you hanging a bit to get you to return, but isn't that what the best storytellers do anyway?

Gramma and gone. Guiding Light is gone. But the power of storytelling remains.

2009-08-18T08:31:00.003-04:00

Gone Fishin'

Well, not really...I've never fished in my life. But I am taking a break.

2009-08-13T07:32:00.001-04:00

Isn't It Ironic, Don'tcha Think?

So I've been watching Ugly Betty, Season 1 on DVD (I didn't get hooked on it until the second season) and recently saw an episode where there was controversy because Mode, the magazine where Betty works, wanted to slim down photos of an actress. In real life, it is doubtful that the actress would be there in the room as the editors are discussing what "cuts" to make, but on the show it makes for good drama. The actress didn't feel so great about this, but the editors assured her that there were taking her great look and making even better.

If art is not reflecting reality as it really is, then it tends to be prescient...so I couldn't believe that just today the editor of Self magazine (a publication that in essence is supposedly encouraging its female readers to believe in themselves) were quoted saying that they altered Kelly Clarkson's image to make her look her 'personal best' (which sounds A LOT like what the Mode Editors said on Ugly Betty) and that magazine covers aren't supposed to look real since they are inspirational/aspirational (something else that was said on the show).

They'd like you to think that that doctor photos to give you something to aim for, when really the photos are doctored so that you'll want to buy more products--either because you are "inspired" or because you feel lousy and hope that more stuff can improve your look.

2009-08-11T07:34:00.000-04:00

Rest in Peace?

So I must have been doing a pretty lousy job of representing myself because the other day someone after I greeted someone I hadn't seen in quite a while, she said, "Are you working?" Um...when am I NOT working? I replied that I am always working and that I've never had the luxury of not working. Not sure what gave her the impression that I might not be working...I think the last time I saw her, I might have been hunting for additional contract work, but I work as I hunt.

After this exchange, someone else came up to me to express their condolences over the dying newspaper industry.

Here I am a lady of leisure who is connected to a moribund industry. If only I had known earlier that I had a such a restful existence...

2009-08-04T12:49:00.003-04:00

Potpourri

After reading about Peggy Cooper Cafritz's amazing collection of art by African American artists, I was saddened to hear that Cafritz lost a lot of that art in a fire at her home. The good thing is that she was not home at the time. I had no idea that such a great patron of artists lived in my area and I think it is amazing that she is determined to keep collecting.

***

I wrote about an Asian movie that has been referred to as a 'Chinese Sex and the City' the other day. Really, it wasn't like Sex and the City at all, but we need easy categories to give people some frame of reference. Of course the "women in the city" genre is nothing new, movies like Three on a Match took on that topic in the 1930s.

2009-07-31T07:38:00.003-04:00

99 Bottles of Un-American Beer

OK, so I haven't checked the news for the latest up-to-the-minute report on what happened when President Obama met with Henry Lewis Gates and the cop who arrested him. It is quite possible that there was a brawl, but I doubt it.

What bothers me is all the fuss over the beer being served. Come on, really. Yeah, it is the American way (or perhaps simply the human way) to make everything about you and insert yourself into every and any situation, but all this whining about the fact that American beer was not on tap was ridiculous. People like what they like and if Obama and his guests favor beer that isn't American, so what? Um, hello...the bigger agenda was a symbolic gesture towards healing race relations.

Plus, Obama was being a good host. If you are inviting people over to diffuse a tense situation, it only makes sense to ask what they prefer, rather than serve them some vetted drink that still would not have passed everyone's standards. If Obama could have had them drop by for a round at his neighborhood pub (something he could not do), he would have bought them whatever beer they wanted.

2009-07-28T07:48:00.000-04:00

What They Said

I'm no language purist. I follow the rules and at the same time take delight in breaking them now and again because languages are fluent organisms, not stagnant sets of rules. Still, even I have to admit I was surprised and rather taken aback when poet extraordinaire Celia White pointed out that according the Merriam-Webster, it is now okay to use "they" as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. A rousing discussion ensued on Facebook about the pros and cons of this ruling.

If you are thinking, what does that mean, then let me tell you that if you have been diligently using "he or she," "he/she" or my personal (non)favorite "s/he," you can now use M-W to back you up when you just go for "they". If you don't know (or would rather not say) the gender of the person doing whatever, you can use they.

Lots of folks already did this and probably think that M-W is late and lame for finally just accepting it.

What can we expect from a world where young men can proudly wear their pants below their derrieres, belting them into this auspicious place? Pants dip further down, language slides into chaos, but I'm sure we'll all survive just the same.

2009-07-21T12:27:00.002-04:00

We Got Driving While Black...How About Living or Being While Black?

OK, so I really don't have anything brilliant or particularly moving to say about Skip Gates being arrested on suspicion of breaking into is own home, except to say that it is a damn shame.

2009-07-16T20:57:00.003-04:00

Starbucks Giveth and Then Taketh Away (Or, No cake for you!)

I was so excited when I learned that Starbucks added a gluten-free menu item. Now Starbucks is pulling the gluten-free Valencia Orange Cake from its menu. They just put it up there in May.

I got this news from Facebook. Then I learned on Twitter that the reasoning for this brilliant move was that "people" said the orange cake wasn't really nutritious and that it was more of a treat. Umm...who goes to Starbucks looking for health food? If you have to avoid gluten, you have plenty of healthy things to eat. What you want is easy access to some baked goods.

One day I hope that places like Starbucks can have more than one gluten-free menu item. Starbucks decided to replace the CAKE with a fruit/nut bar. Really, money must come into play somewhere here. I can't believe that they just up and replaced the cake because it was too much of a treat.

2009-07-16T07:33:00.002-04:00

Say My Name

I met Jamie at an amusement park one summer. He was mysterious and all I ever really learned about him was his name. (Well, that plus the fact that he was rather forgetful.)

Standing in line for some ride or another, I saw a teenage boy with the word "Jamie" tattooed on his neck. And me, being me, said: "Hey Jamie."

"How did you know my name?" he replied.

2009-07-15T08:02:00.002-04:00

Imitation of Life

Yesterday, I was talking film on Examiner.com--

Where iterations of the classic film Imitation of Life differ and coincide

If you've never seen either version of Imitation of Life, they are worth renting or netflixing or streaming, or whatever it is you do to see movies.

2009-07-14T07:30:00.002-04:00

Scenes from the Sculpture Garden

Sitting on bench at Jazz in the Sculpture Garden provides plenty of entertainment...

All Responses are Not Answers
Woman: I didn't realize there'd be so many people here.
Man: It is a district.

Who Will Watch the Children? (Or Babysitting for Beer)
I shared a bench with a woman who was content to sit and listen to the music. Until a man with two kids in tow showed up and started talking to her. He struck up a conversation with her about general topics and then asked her where she'd gotten her beer. After she told him, he started to get up and asked her if she'd mind watching his kids while he want to get a beer. She seemed to consent, although she did not explicitly say she would.

When he returned, he resumed the conversation, and handed her a beer.

2009-07-13T13:37:00.003-04:00

Do the Clothes Make the Man?

So after attending an open rehearsal and the theological discussion, I finally saw King Lear starring Stacy Keach--

Modern Setting Makes King Lear More Relevant

2009-07-09T07:42:00.000-04:00

The DC Green Machine Gains Momentum

Just today I read that the mayor of DC signed a law that will mean we must pay 5 cents for every disposable plastic bag we take out of a store. I'm not sure if this will mean that those of us who bring our own bags will no longer get the 5 cent discount, but I have until January to reap the benefits of this practice without question.

What is does mean is that I will probably end up buying plastic bags to line my wastebaskets...

I've said before that it ain't easy being green and...well the green-ness comes in one way and goes out another.

But the folks at the grocery store near me have now gotten on the bandwagon.
The last time I was in the grocery store the bagger said, "This is one of those green bags." Being quite tired and therefore much more literal than usual, I wondered what he was talking about. The cloth bag I'd brought was off-white. And then I realized what he meant.

"Yup, she's saving the Earth," said the cashier in mock earnestness. The three of us chuckled.

"Well, I'm saving 5 cent, at least," I replied.

2009-07-08T07:57:00.003-04:00

All's Well that Ends Well...

I am big nerd (in a literary way) and I love that now I can go to literary lectures and discussions without them having to take notes or feeling like I had to ingest it all to get a good grade as I did in college. The Shakespeare Theatre Company had a theological discussion called "King Lear: A Family Divided," which I attended and wrote about for Examiner.com--

King Lear...with a Happy Ending?

2009-07-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Wipe Your Mouth on the Welcome Mat

So I know that everyone does not have the same sense of humor and I try to make room for the things that other people think are funny, even when I don't agree...(ok, obviously I'm about to contradict myself here)

But when I take a leap of faith in the common sense of other folks and ask someone to hand me a paper towel, I do not find it funny when that person pretends to wipe their mouth on it first. In order to carry out the pretense, you practically, well, wipe your mouth on it. And I get pissy when I point this out and get some b.s. about how I don't get the "humor" because I 'didn't grow up with a brother, did I?'

As a matter of fact, I did grow up with a brother...on who has the decency not to wipe his mouth on a paper towel before handing it to me (or who at least has the sense not to let me see him if he were to do such a thing).

If you don't know enough about me to know that I have a brother, then maybe you don't want to joke with me. And maybe I need to only entrust such a delicate mission to someone that I know and trust.

2009-07-04T12:18:00.001-04:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

2009-06-30T09:58:00.004-04:00

August Wilson's Radio Golf

This past weekend I ushered so I could see Radio Golf, the last play in August Wilson's 10-play cycle about the African-American experience. He did a play for each decade and Radio Golf covers the 1990s. This play covers the 1990s. I've been seeing quite a few plays lately, and I am always amazed at how a few people and a few props can keep me mesmerized for a couple of hours. It starts with the words on a page, but then with the direction and the acting, the lights, the costumes, they've created a different world that audiences get to step into for a bit.

But back to Radio Golf--many have wondered what Wilson would have thought of Barack Obama's presidency. Of course there is no real way of knowing, but in Radio Golf, he has one character say that a Black mayor or Black CEO will not erase all of Black folks' problems, win us automatic acceptance or make everything alright.

Radio Golf is an amazing play and you can read more (but not too many) details about it on my Examiner.com blog:

Radio Golf illustrates the tension between "progress" and preserving our connection to the past

2009-06-25T07:01:00.004-04:00

Tutu Much

Without knowing that I would, I ended up passing through downtown DC just as a Beyonce concert was letting out. If you don't know, Ms. Sasha Fierce (Beyonce's alter ego) is known for her fierce costumes and her fans follow suit. I saw lots of interesting outfits, but nothing tops the tutu.

I saw a woman at the train station who had on a tank top and a teeny tiny rainbow-colored tutu, drawers and nothin' else. She was working it though. Strutting proudly, as though it was no big deal to be almost walking around just wearing underwear. A fellow passenger on the escalator and I exchanged looks at dismay. It was like a car wreck--you want to look away, but you can't.

(Then I thought about how if she were on the beach, wearing what amounts to underwear is no big deal. So it is allowed in our society, but there is a time and a place for everything...and I'm not used to seeing people on Metro in their underwear.)

After we all exited the escalator, she ran into people she knew who said, "Girl, what are you wearing?!"

A defiant "You see it don't you?" was all she said before she started talking about the concert.

2009-06-23T09:35:00.006-04:00

The Third Wheel's the Charm (Or if you can't get your own date, why not unwittingly sit in on someone else's?)

So I met a friend last night for a free outdoor movie--great weather, no rain( finally), not too muggy, all in all a good night to be out and about. This friend is an inclusive sort of person, so I mentioned it to a few other people, in case they wanted to join us. For her part, she at first said that "this guy X might come." That was when we first met up. We got to talking about other things and she casually mentioned that she hadn't really met X before, they'd been trying to connect and hadn't before now and she mentioned the movie to him. So it was kind of a blind date. A blind date in which I would kind of be a participant.

I am a lot better at just rolling with it than I used to be, so it was what it was. He was hungry before the movie started, so he went to get food and offered to bring back ice cream for us both. I was happy to participate in that. Overall, though, I don't know if it was quite what he'd expected...had she told him she was meeting me at the movie or just that she was going to the movie? I couldn't tell. But hey--blind dates are supposed to have an element of surprise, right?

2009-06-22T18:17:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Luv Ya Tomorrow
I was trying (and mostly kinda sorta succeeding) at posting three times a week, but now I am reducing frequency to 2x a week--so you can now look forward to my wit and wisdom on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

See you tomorrow/Hasta mañana :-)

2009-06-18T08:24:00.002-04:00

What is the Point?

"We are all like the butterfly in the amazing, unexpected magnitude of our effect. Even when we feel most helpless, when events we cannot control or prevent pile up, even in our most bitter brokennes, we do have our role in the working out of the great plan."
-Madeline L'Engle

2009-06-16T08:50:00.003-04:00

Can I Get a Witness?

I was browsing a table near the front of a bookstore (remember those?) that posts a guard near the front door. In this bookstore, the guard was a black woman. In walks another black woman with two non-black friends.

"Tell them," she demands of the guard. "Tell them how long it takes for us to get our hair done. We can't be in an out in an hour."

The guard chuckles and confirms that we do indeed go through a lot to get our hair did.

For more on this topic see:

I Wanted a Cut and Color and All I Got Was This Lousy Story

2009-06-08T16:10:00.004-04:00

King Lear Rehearsal

I saw an open rehearsal for King Lear starring Stacy Keach this past weekend.
And (now don't be all insanely jealous) I passed by the stage door on the way to me car, so I got to shake Keach's hand.

This version is set in 1990's Yugoslavia, with Keach playing Lear as an Eastern European dictator-type.

(Some of) the play's the thing at King Lear rehearsal

(Image courtesy of The Shakespeare Theatre Company)

2009-06-07T22:21:00.003-04:00

Commerce

This past weekend some friends had a Pimps and Ho's party that I declined to attend and a male friend offered to treat me to dinner, later saying something like, "If I pay for dinner, you'll put out?" I was pissed. He apologized profusely, saying it really was a joke and that he kids like that with other women (some of whom I know).

And there you have it: commerce.

(A lot of times, I edit out (meaning never write about) such foolishness, but I think you're grown enough to handle it.)

2009-06-05T07:50:00.001-04:00

Business Savvy (or Scenes from a CVS)

We've had a lot of rain lately in DC. The good thing is that it has rained mostly on the weekdays, leaving the weekends sunny and beautiful.

Yesterday, there was a man outside of CVS hawking umbrellas for $5. "They got them in there for $8.99, but mine are $5," he told passers-by.

I went into CVS where a stockroom employee taunted the cashier as customers waited in line. "Why you workin' so hard?" he kept repeating, trying to goad the cashier into something. The cashier laughed it off.

Then the umbrella man came in as I got to the register. "I see these your umbrellas are $10," he noted aloud. The cashier smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to see that," Umbrella-man continued. "Mine a $5." He turned and walked out of the store back into the rain, satisfied.

2009-06-01T19:18:00.006-04:00

Remote Possibility

Dear Gentle Reader,

That is how Miss Manners or one of those advice columnists likes to start their responses, but of course you haven't really asked me anything...but, I will tell you that I still cannot find the remote for my DVD player. But I am calm. Today's news about a plane that went missing makes worrying over a lost remote seem foolish.

Earlier today, I read in a book that the key to finding lost things is knowing where to look. Depending on your mood, a statement such as this will either seem trite or seem like it is pure genius. Of course knowing where to look helps when looking for lost things. At the same time, is this 'where' an actual physical space...or is it where as in the kind of places to look. Who knows? In the book, the protagonist drops this nugget of wisdom as she recalls how her mother, who is growing more and more feeble-minded, couldn't find something. Yet, she recounts this tale as she is looking for something much more crucial: her father, whom she has never met. She bought her mother a new spatula. She wasn't able to replace her father in the same way.

I'm getting all philosophical here. Really, I just want to find the remote.

2009-05-29T07:31:00.003-04:00

ca·coph·o·ny

: harsh or discordant sound : dissonance 2 ; specifically : harshness in the sound of words or phrases

This was the word that came to mind the other day when I sat on a bench in the train station trying to read. Two little girls were invented their own clashing songs based on the electronic sign that tells you when the next train is coming. One kept repeating the minutes left over and over, changing as the sign changed. The other had some riff on the destination. I added a silent sigh to the symphpony.

Then I felt bad. They were just keeping themselves entertained and were not doing any harm. If anything, their train station melodies were very creative. I still wanted to read ( and couldn't because it was too hard to block them out), but as the train came I looked over an smiled at them.

Later that day, I was walking down the street when several emergency vehicles were screaming at the top of their lungs (as if they really had them). One added a horn into the mix because the likely stunned and confused car drivers weren't really getting out of the way.

That's it, I thought. Cacophony.

2009-05-24T23:14:00.006-04:00

Just a Few Steps Ahead

In recent months, I've had conversations with fellow church-goers about why it sometimes seems like the meanest people in church sign up for hospitality-related work. In the past, the people serving breakfast are known to snap at you. (Although now there are much kinder faces; perhaps some of them needed to "retire.") Even a guest preacher told a story about how the ushers at his church did not simply seat you, they told you where to sit and did not stand for any protests from people who did not like the seat they were assigned.

So today I was gratified to see an usher who took her post seriously, but in a good way. I was on my way to sit in the balcony, when an usher politely asked me to step aside...so she could get to get to the balcony entrance 2 steps ahead of me where she greeted me with a purposeful "Good Morning" and handed me a bulletin.

Weighty Matters: Does being a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord include monitoring weight loss?

2009-05-22T07:09:00.004-04:00

Ask a Silly Question...

The other day I put some Haagen-Dazs into my shopping basket, thinking that I surely didn't need it, but who cares? It was a small carton, surely it would do no harm. When I got up to the cashier and started to unload the basket, I thought about the ice cream again: Did I really need it?

As I put it on the conveyor belt, I noticed that it was slashed in the back. I needed to get going and since there was no time to go back and get a replacement, my question was answered.

2009-05-20T07:27:00.002-04:00

The Art of Finding Lost Things

Just yesterday a friend reminded me that you never find what you are looking for when you are looking for it. Case in point: if I lose something, I often don't find it until I start looking for something else that I've misplaced. Now, car/house keys must be found immediately...everything else can wait. If I lose an earring, I may not see it again until I am looking for a headband that I can't find. The headband may turn up as I am trying to find a shirt.

So what do I have to lose to find the remote??!!

2009-05-18T18:13:00.005-04:00

Some Men Find the Pen to Be as Effective as the Sword

I've been in several discussions about the "why" behind the popularity of Steve Harvey's book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. One person said that it was because he had a good publicist, while others just marveled that the book has taken off as it as.

I try not to hate, but I have to admit that while I am happy for his success, I wondered about the white, leather-bound special edition that they were touting around Mother's Day. Is this really gift for your mom? The mom who has everything...except a man? Or is Mother's Day one of those occasions when you give gifts to women in general? Mind you if I had a book out, I suppose I'd squeeze every single money-making opportunity I could out of it...well, maybe I'd say no to the 3-D, pop-up, comic version that acts as a flotation device.

In any case, I was looking at his high ranking on the bestseller list in the newspaper (sometimes I still read it the old-fashioned way--on paper) and my eye wandered over to my bookshelf where I saw another very popular dating advice book that had a male (co)author: He's Just Not That Into You.

And I thought, maybe that is it! Women go crazy for dating advice from men because they figure that men are the experts on their own kind. Just as kids will pay attention when someone other than their parent tells them the same thing that their parents have said, maybe women don't want advice from other women or their close friends and relatives. Getting counsel from a stranger who is unconnected to you might make it seem more objective...Somehow I don't think that it would work in reverse: men would not go crazy for an advice book about women written by a woman. (Although, you never know: I was got an earful of male dating angst this past weekend as two twenty-something who sat a few feet away from me at an outdoor cafe went over their confusion and sex lives in great detail).

2009-05-15T13:51:00.004-04:00

Beyonce's Band of Gold

A fellow Twitter-er (@suzywelch) mentioned this essay that examines Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” through the prism of that old song "Band of Gold." As you can imagine, the writer points out that the Beyonce song expresses some rather crude, archaic sentiments, but there is also an interesting analysis of how the music drives the story of the song. Sometimes we forget that the instrumentation is saying just as much as the lyrics...

Pop’s ring cycle

2009-05-13T08:13:00.000-04:00

Smokescreen
We had beautiful weather this past weekend. While out, I saw a man standing about 1 foot away from a car. smoking and talking. When I got closer I could see that he was talking to a young child in a car seat. What I heard was him going over the day's schedule, telling the child what they would be doing and carrying on an ongoing, but audibly one-sided dialogue.

I don't know that standing one foot away to the open window really protected the child from smoke, I admire him for keeping the lines of communication open, even while he had to have a smoke.

2009-05-12T07:53:00.000-04:00

Saddened by Violence Against Women

I was saddened to hear more of the story about a young, pregnant woman found dead on Mother's Day in Maryland. They arrested her boyfriend, believed to be the unborn child's father. Both of their families are shocked and grieving. Members of his family say they know him and cannot imagine him doing anything like this.

And last week it was reported that Chris Brown wants the charges against him dismissed on the usual technicality. He has a good defense and they are doing what a good defense does in such cases. I couldn't have imagined it turning out any other way...and yet I shudder to think of the continuing precedent that is set when one can does not have to take responsibility for one's actions. It happens all the time and this is not the first domestic violence case in which it has happened...but that doesn't make it any less disturbing.

2009-05-11T09:42:00.005-04:00

Live Long and Prosper

I boldly went to see a late showing of Star Trek last Friday, when I knew quite well that I would spend days trying to recover. No one said space travel was easy.

In the future, there will still be wars and conflicts; Iowa will still be filled with cornfields; a boy without a father will still rebel to drown his pain uptight nerds will still be at a loss to understand daredevils and people will still carry flasks with a little somethin' somethin' in them. Isn't it a comfort to know that the more things change, the more they stay the same?

Really though, I like the direction the took with the Star Trek prequel. It was a fantastic movie with a lot of action and a good storyline.

By the end of the movie, though, I had turned to my usual griping about the roles women, specifically women of color get to play. By then, it seemed that Uhura (played by Zoe Saldana) was only there to comfort her love interest. But then I remembered that her intelligence and competence had been established early on. She had been assertive with a superior to get the assignment she wanted and her knowledge had provided key information that the hero used to save the day. And as far as her being there to comfort someone, well back in the day audiences were scandalized when Uhura as played by Nichelle Nichols kissed William Shatner's Captain Kirk--the first kiss between an African American and a Caucasian on a television show of that type.

Her role may not have been perfectly balanced (who's is?) but Uhura did have range. And that is a lot more than many women get in movies that are primarily adventure stories that focus on male characters.

2009-05-06T07:19:00.001-04:00

Cold Busted

In these harsh economic times, one cannot be too careful...and this is why I am so annoyed with myself for getting not one, but two speeding tickets along the same stretch of parkway. To go along with this, after the tickets arrived in the mail, I saw this newspaper headline, "Speed cameras bust taxpayers." What they meant was that not only will we be paying for speeding, we'll also be paying more for the costs of personnel to monitor and calibrate the speed cameras.

Really, I need to slow down, it seems. I looked at the dates and could not recall just where I was going. Since I have not raced to put out any fires or been a part of any other emergency operations in the recent past, I can conclude that there was no reason for me to be speeding.

When I talk to a friend about this, she pointed out something that got to my inner conspiracy theorist--it is interesting to see just where they put these cameras...often in places where you'd be expected to speed up a little, not in necessarily wealthy neighborhoods, and not where anyone is in any real danger. That parkway isn't a pedestrian walkway, it curvy so you naturally can't go ridiculously fast and it is not like you are going to roll over into a ditch because there are none.

Since I am slowing down (and it felt like I was crawling along the parkway), I've actually noticed the signs. The speed as I return home is 10 mph higher than the one I must abide by leaving home. Both times I was caught, I was going away from home. Had I been driving that same speed on the way back, there might have been no tickets...*sigh*